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London – The UK health authorities began to implement the first doses of a Vaccine for COVID-19 on Tuesday, beginning a global immunization program that is expected to gain momentum as more serums gain approval. The first shot occurred early in the morning at one of a network of hospital centers across the country, where the initial phase of the UK program will be implemented in what has been dubbed “V-Day.”
Public health officials are asking the public to be patient because only those who are most at risk from the new coronavirus you will get vaccinated in the early stages. Medical staff will contact individuals to set up appointments, and most will have to wait until next year before there is enough vaccine to expand the program.
Jacob King / Pool / AP
“I think there is a good chance that we will look back on … (Tuesday) as a decisive turning point in the battle against coronavirus,” said Simon Stevens, director general of England’s National Health Service.
The first recipient was Grandmother Margaret Keenan, who will turn 91 next week. He received the vaccine at Coventry University Hospital at 6:31 a.m. M.
Keenan said she felt “very privileged to be the first person to be vaccinated against COVID-19.”
“It’s the best anticipated birthday gift I could wish for because it means I can finally look forward to spending time with my family and friends in the New Year after being alone most of the year,” she said.
The second injection was for a man named William Shakespeare, an 81-year-old from Warwickshire, the county where the bard was born, prompting a probably well-planned response online and in the press.
“Domestication of the flu: William Shakespeare becomes the second person to receive the Covid vaccine,” joked the headline of the British newspaper Independent.
In a tweet, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson thanked the country’s health service, the vaccine’s developers, volunteers who helped prove it was safe and effective through trials, and “all they have followed the rules to protect others. “
“We’re going to get through this together,” Johnson said.
The first 800,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine in the UK go to people over the age of 80 who are hospitalized or already scheduled outpatient appointments, along with nursing home workers. Others will have to wait their turn, but all vaccinations will be provided free of charge through Britain’s National Health Service.
Among the older Britons scheduled to get vaccinated is Hari Shukla of Newcastle.
“When I got the phone call, I was very excited to have the opportunity to join and be involved in that,” he said. “So we are very, very happy and happy and excited as well.”
Buckingham Palace declined to comment on reports that 94-year-old Queen Elizabeth II and her 99-year-old husband, Prince Philip, would be vaccinated as a public example of their safety.
“Our aim is to fully protect all members of the population, Your Majesty, of course, as well,” Dr June Raine, executive director of Britain’s Medicines and Health Products Regulatory Agency, told the BBC.
Public health officials elsewhere are watching Britain’s rollout as they prepare for the unprecedented task of vaccinating billions of people to end a pandemic that has killed more than 1.5 million. While the UK has a well-developed infrastructure for the delivery of vaccines, it is geared towards delivering them to groups such as school-age children or pregnant women, not the entire population.
The UK is making headway on the project after British regulators on December 2 granted an emergency authorization to the vaccine produced by US drugmaker Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech. US and European Union authorities are also reviewing the vaccine, along with rival products developed by the American biotech company Moderna, and a collaboration between the University of Oxford and pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca.
On Saturday, Russia began vaccinating thousands of doctors, teachers and others at dozens of centers in Moscow with their Sputnik V vaccine. That program looks different because Russia authorized the use of Sputnik V last summer after it was tested on just a few dozen people.
KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP / Getty
Russia still lacks significant trial data in older patients and has only made its vaccine available to Moscow residents between the ages of 18 and 60.
The first shipments of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine were delivered to a select group of UK hospitals on Sunday.
At one such facility, Croydon University Hospital, south London, staff members couldn’t even touch the vials, but were delighted to have them in the building.
“I am very proud,” said Louise Coughlan, Deputy Chief Pharmacist for Croydon Health Services NHS Trust.
The vaccine may not arrive soon enough for the UK, which has more than 61,000 COVID-19-related deaths, more than any other country has reported in Europe. The UK has more than 1.7 million cases.
The 800,000 doses are only a fraction of what is needed. The government is targeting more than 25 million people, or about 40% of the population, in the first phase of its vaccination program, which prioritizes those who are most at risk of contracting the disease.
After the 80+ and nursing home workers, the program will expand as supply increases, and the vaccine will be offered roughly by age group, starting with the oldest.
In England, the vaccine will be delivered to 50 hospitals in the first wave of the program, with more hospitals expected to offer it as rollout progresses. Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales are making their own plans under the UK’s decentralized administration system.
British officials have made it clear that the vaccine will not be mandatory for anyone. As residents become eligible, they will be notified by their doctor’s office or the National Health Service and asked to schedule an appointment for the vaccination.
Logistical problems are slowing down the distribution of the Pfizer vaccine because it must be stored at minus 94 degrees Fahrenheit.
The immunization program will be “a marathon, not a sprint,” said Professor Stephen Powis, NHS England medical director.
Authorities are also targeting large-scale distribution points because each vaccine package contains 975 doses and they don’t want it to go to waste.
The UK has agreed to buy millions of doses from seven different producers. Governments around the world are making agreements with various developers to ensure they ensure delivery of products that are ultimately approved for widespread use.
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